Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-01-09
A FIERCE FIGHT.
Experience Of Hunters in
an Algerian Forest.
COMBAT BETWEEN LIONS.
How the King of Beasts Struggle
for the Mastery-An Indif-
ferent Spectator.

Only those who have experienced it
can realize the excitement caused by
witnessing hand.to.hand conflict be.
tween two savage, untamed beasts. l
have witnessed bull fights in Mexico and
seen python crush the life out of calf
in South America, but never gazed on
more thrilling episode than on one hot
Algerian night at water pool about 200
miles in the e'interior. Beside the pool
were several trees of fair size, in the
branches of one of which had been
placed q small platform hidden among
the clustered leaves, from which hiding
place it was convenient to shoot any
animals that might come to the pool to
drink during the night. Thither re-
paired, one evening soon after suudown,
Maccovoy and myself, accompanied by
his Arab servant. young fellow NAM d
Asilla, who bore our spare guns and
acted as factotum to us both on expedi.
tions of this nature. 1t is fficult for
me in my cooler moments to climb tree
and the smooth, upright stem proved
extremely Troublesome to swarm. How
ever, with the help of Mac and Asilla, l
managed it and secured comfortable
perch. They followed with great facil.
itv, being both slight, active men, and
at once made the guns ready.
The moon rose gradually, and l had
good opportunity to study perfect
silence. Nothing can be more deeply
silent than q still night in the desert.
As there is little or no vegetation on
those vast oceans Of land, there is no
insect life, and for several hours after
the moon rose absolute silence relgned.
We did not speak. There was no wind.
1t seemed as if there was no living thing
in that widespread expanse OF country.
I was beginning to feel sleepy and nod
frequently, when prolonged roar
sounded close at hand. In an instant
we were wide awake and grasped our
nuns nervously. At the next instant
the roar was answered from location
Immediately beneath us. On looking
down we saw lioness lying upon her
belly, her head between her paws. and
her long tail waving luxuriously to and
fro. She looked like huge cat, enjoy.
ing some pleasurable sensation. Almost
instantly third "Woof! WOO! T.
sounded at our backs. "Gad, DocW
breathed Mac, 1--WE are in for bay
tonight and a moment later two mag
nificent males stepped slowly and ma.
jectically into view. The female con.
,;pued to uurr and wave her tail gently.
As soon as the two lions spied each
other they prepared for action. Slowly
and carefully they neared each other,
the lioness meanwhile watching them as
a cat does a mouse. Closer and closer
they drew, while we, spellbound, re-
served our fire to witness the terrible
duel that was impending. :,
And now they crouch and with mutual
roars of rage spring at each other, and,
meeting in mid.leap, fall, biting and
tearing to the earth. We can hear their
bones crush between their powerful jaws
like egg shells beneath mans boot
heel. The lioness, maintaining her tran
ouil attitude, watched the conflict, as it
seemed to my excited eyes, with devil
ish smile on her face. Over and over
they rolled, while the sickening sound of
champing bones filled the air, mingled
with their frantic roaring and the move
ment of their bodies as they thrashed
through the whirling sand. BY this
time my nerves were 50 wrought up that
could stand the terrific spectacle no
longer. and, taking deliberate aim ut the
Iioness. behind her shoulder blade, l let
hy. Above the rumble of the smooth
bore sounded the shrek of the lioness
as the heavy ball crashed into her vitals.
The two dueliss at once ceased their
encounter, and as one of them turned he
received Maccovoy's rifle bullet in the
head, the missive piercing the hollow
over the eye. where the skull is weak,
and entering the brain. Death was
almost instantaneous. The other male,
with thundering "woof!" gave
mighty spring and landed half way
up the tree trunk, nearly shaking us
from our perch. Asilla hastily dis
charged one of our guns into his face.
but probably the charge only grazed
him, for, falling back, he disappeared
into the darkness toward where the
moans and cries of the lioness grew
fainter and fainter every moment.
The moon being on the wane, after all
sounds had ceased we returned to camp,
with many promises TO each other to
takeu the spoor OF our wounded enemies
in the morning and track them to their
death. Accordingly at daybreak, with
a party of fifty Arab beaters we returned
to the ''staud" and were soon on the
spoor of the wounded lioness. The
sand was torn up for quite space, as if
the animal had suffered terrible agony,
and, following the trail for at least nine
miles in a southwesterly direction, the
dogs gave tongue at tamarisk brake
that extended on three sides of quite
body of brackish water. Some four or
five of the dogs. of better blood than the
average Arab cur, dashed into the tangle
and the next instant we had the satisfac
tion of seeing the mangled remains of
one flung up in the air from about the
center of the patch. A chorus of yelps
and snarlings now set in and one discon.
solate cur limped painfully out, his ribs
bare of flesh, where the lioness' paw
struck him. We were now in a predica.
ment. After an hours internal clatter
by the beaters, we were as far from get
ting her royal highness out as ever, for
show herself she would not. ''If the
tamarisk is only dry enough" quoth
Mac. 1--WE can soon smoke her out;" and
be galloped round through the beaters,
and soon a volley of flaming torches
rained into the brake. This fetched
her. She made gallant charge out and
almost up to us, before we gave her all
four barrels. 1t stopped her, and for a
moment the noble beast seemed stunned.
Then as the smoke cleared away, we
saw her return to the shelter. More
torches were thrown in, and four separ-
ate times did the desperate lioness charge
us dauntlessly and receive our fire, be-
fore finally biting the dust
She had eleven bullet holes in her.
besides the smashed shoalder blade l
L L ,.I 1nf